Disclaimer: I don't own Air Gear or anything associated with Air Gear. Enjoy my first fan fiction!
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I wandered about aimlessly in the city. The steady hum and whir of my ATs were the only sounds that I heard. Everything in the sky was so quiet and peaceful compared to the bustling streets below. I sped up towards a stair rail. I flew in the air and landed, grinding the rail. The friction sent sparks all around me. I effortlessly back flipped towards the rail beside me, my hand grabbing it. My arm held my weight as I heaved my body towards the sky, twisting my body to adjust to the movements. As the railing as about to end, I stood up right and lunged for the parking lot in the corner. I grabbed the low concrete barrier of the 2nd floor and quickly swung my legs over it.

As soon as I was over the barrier, I looked around. There weren't many cars around. One or two would be parked in a few spaces, but other than those few the parking lot was practically empty. I glided to the clock on the wall in between two elevators.

"8:01 am. I guess they don't come to work until at least 9." I shrugged my shoulders.

"This has nothing to do with me.." I said to myself and firmly pressed the elevator button. The door opened instantly and I rolled into the cramped room. As I stood alone in the small elevator, watching as the number above the door flash occasionally, I began to think. There's only one human in this world that I would even give a damn about. I sighed.

"I hope things will get better between us soon. It'd be very uncomfortable to be going around battling and be so awkward around a member of my own team."

The elevator came to a stop, ringing an automated bell. The doors opened up, revealing a spacious roof with a beautiful view of the sky. I stepped out and rolled towards the middle of the concrete roof. I saw a small sedan parked in the corner. Who in their right mind would park all the way up here when there's so much space in the floors below?

"-10 points"

I turned away from the car and looked up into the sky. The white puffy clouds lazily moved in the sky, complimenting the sky's bright blue hue. A thin layer of light shined from behind one of the clouds. Slowly, it moved away, revealing the bright sun. It was just like a painting. I stared up into the sky, pressing the back of my hand over the top of my eyes to shield them from blinding sun. I squinted, trying to get a better look, but I couldn't.

"Damn I should've worn my sunglasses before I left.." I muttered.

I heaved a sigh. "Oh well, what's done is done. There's no point in going back for them now."

I looked around the empty roof once again. To the right of me was a concrete pathway, like a road. I rolled towards the mouth of the path. I looked over the concrete barrier in front of me, trying to see where the path would end up. I saw that it winded through the other floors and led out into the streets. Just at a glance, I saw that the streets were packed with cars and the streets were at least 14 meters wide. An idea formed in my head. I moved to the far end of the roof opposite from the entrance of the path before I bent my knees and leaned forward. I brought my right leg back and revved up my ATs. I quickly calculated the speed and height I needed to succeed my plan. A determined look was in my eyes.

I leaned forward on my ATs and began to move. I dashed as fast as I could to the entrance. When I was about a foot away from the starting point of the path, I immediately braked and leaned to the side, folding my body and spreading my arms apart. Sparks flew everywhere as I skid through the multiple floors. I kept accelerating as I continued to drift down the winding path, keeping a close distance to the inner wall. I raised my hand and let my fingers gently graze the wall as I sped up. Nearing the exit, I removed my hand from the wall and resumed my position.

"Almost there!" I could see the light flood the dark parking lot floor. I swerved the last part of the path and flung myself into the streets, flying above the cars. As I soared above everyone, I felt a small wave of happiness creep into my heart, involuntarily smiling. The sun's rays found me and spread their warmth on my body. I squinted through one eye as I held my hand up to block the sun from shining on my face. I caught sight of a light pole and reached out for it. I felt the cold metal under my fingers and pulled my body towards it. My legs folded and I heard the sharp clank of the ATs colliding with the metal. Not wasting a second, I immediately accelerated, spiraling up the pole. Upper Soul 23 Roll! I curled my ATs directly under my body and launched myself higher into the air, releasing the light pole and spun in the air.

I shifted my body so that I was nearly upside down. My ATs shot up into the sky and windmilled in the air, rotating my body and shifting my center of gravity. Moonrider.

I landed onto a nearby low roof with ease. After all that, I haven't even broken a sweat.

"Aahh…" I groaned as the sunlight shined in my eyes again.

Without another word, I angrily leaped off the roof and breezed through the city streets to look for a shop that sold sunglasses. After a few minutes of searching, I finally found one. I halted and calmly stepped inside the store.

-
I came back out after several various trials and errors and finally chose a pair. The chrome rims were a bit thick and the glasses itself was a dark gray. The sunglasses were somewhat clear, allowing my eyes to be seen by others and yet they provide me with the same level of eye protection as dark sunglasses would. The pair of sunglasses that I kept in my room was completely outdated. To me, those sunglasses served a purpose in blinding me rather than helping me.

Satisfied, I quickly jumped onto the roof and ran on the rooftops towards the tower. I think I've spent a sufficient amount of time doing nothing. I should return quickly to make plans for the next storm battle.

I ran miles and miles of rooftops, repeatedly hopping from one to another, then something caught my eye. I landed on the rooftop ledge and looked down to search for the item. I finally found it. "Can it really be? I never thought I'd see this again in such a short time!" I eagerly jumped down from the roof and crossed the street to enter the shop. As I walked, the hem of my untucked shirt softly blew behind me as the doors opened to welcome me. On the way, I met a group of high school students. The 3 students who were comfortably walking out of the store, talking to each other suddenly stopped in their tracks. The one in the middle looked up at me, staring wide-eyed in shock or surprise. The other two followed suit. I looked down at them from the corner of my eyes, casting a shadow over them.

"Excuse me.." I said in a commanding tone rather than one requesting. The two girls beside the third student stepped aside, leaving the girl in the middle frozen in her place. Losing my patience, I swerved around the girl still staring straight at me and continued on. A slight wind caught the back of my shirt and flew up a bit, revealing my lower back.

From behind, I heard the girls gasp and felt their eyes bore into my back. I then heard the soft sound of feet moving about and a stream of girlish jabber quickly followed. Ignoring the students, I went off to find someone in the store who could help me get what I wanted.

-
Hours later, I raced out the store in a blink of an eye, leaving the citizens that were around wondering what passed them. I went onto the streets riding my brand new Ducati. I felt pride surge through my veins, feeling the power of the bike as I gripped the handles and stepped on the gas. My helmet was securely placed onto my head. Unfamiliar to wearing protection gear, it felt a bit uncomfortable, but I endured it. I was too excited and happy to be concerned with a little discomfort. It was around 4 pm, judging from the sun's position. The streets would normally be packed with vehicles around at least 5:30. Compared to that, the streets were almost empty, giving me the perfect opportunity to test out my new motorcycle.

Accelerating, I swerved and twisted everywhere in the streets. I felt the wind brush past me like never before.
I could never get this kind of feeling from riding ATs. Even though this cannot compare to an AT's speed and ability, this is just as good. There are no such worries like competing for territories or regalia, just riding for the joy of riding.
I smiled as I raced through the streets, passing by other cars within seconds.

"+70 points!" I yelled out as I drove felt like a heavy burden was released from my shoulders as I aimlessly steered the vehicle through the city.

Without realizing it, I accelerated so much that I was nearly back at the tower in a short amount of time. I braked as the looming tower was in front of me.

"The ride back was way too short" I muttered. Luckily, none of the Sleeping Forest members was in sight. They would most likely drag me back into the tower to help them do some training or research tactics. I huffed. The team needed me for those kinds of things because they didn't have the capability to do it as precisely as I was able to. I swung a leg over the motorcycle while pulling the stuffy helmet off. I stood up and hung the helmet on the handles and lifted the back of the seat up. Inside, all safe and snug were my ATs. I picked them up, put the seat back down, and walked into the tower.

I went down the empty corridors and rooms, searching for a certain person. The first thing I saw was a fairly drunk Black Burn splayed over the couch. His face was red and he was sleeping soundly with a bottle in his hand. As I looked over the top of the couch, I saw that there were multiple bottles on the floor beside him. I shook my head.

"-10 points" I grumbled.

I continued down the corridors until I reached the steel door that signified my room. I pried the door open and dumped my ATs on the bed, looking around my room for a moment. There wasn't much to look at. There was the standard bed and desk with a dresser on the side. I didn't have many personal things either. The only items that signified that the room belonged to someone were the clothes folded neatly in the dresser, my formal attires and uniform that hung in the closet, and a few accessories that were gathered on the dresser. Unlike the other team members, I wasn't one to go and take the time to decorate my room. I kept it neat and tidy, with little to no clutter about. I observed the room for another minute or two before turning and exiting.

On the way out, I silently closed the door. I wandered within the tower for a few moments, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Where is everyone…

I heard the music echoing from one of the rooms. It didn't sound too far away so I started to follow it. I eventually came to a large steel door with an enormous, bright-red D crudely painted in the middle. There were some other paintings that stuck out from the D, but I couldn't recognize what they were. I calmly pushed the door open, revealing a tall figure sitting on the bed, rapping out lyrics. A microphone was in his hand and was pressed against the figure's lips, the other hand making odd gestures. A hood was covering his face, but I still recognized him.

"..Dontores" I called out. The figure immediately stopped rapping and making obscene gestures at the sound of an intruder and quickly got up, removing the large hood that covered his head.

"Oh Kilik you're back." He calmly stated. He stood up from the bed and stepped towards me. The door was a barrier between us.

"Where you been? Rika-san and everyone else was worried about you when they heard that you just stormed out of here this morning." He explained.

"They were worried about me? Who is 'they'?"

"Well… Spitfire, Rika-san, and Sora of course."

"… Sora? Sora was worried about me? -15 points!" a sarcastic tone naturally weaved into my words. Everyone here knows that Sora doesn't care much about anyone else other than himself…he's just using Rika for his own benefits! A scowl slowly formed on my face and a low growl escaped from my lips.

"Uhh yea Sora too. He seemed to be nervous when you left—"

"That's probably only because Rika-san was present…" I spat. Dontores was looking at me strangely. He remained like that for a minute or two before he continued to speak.

"…I wouldn't know about that or nothin' 'cause all I know is that they went out to look for you a while ago." He sounded a little deflated when he said that. I guess he cares about Rika that way too…? I ignored the thought.

"…Dontores, were you and the others told that I left?" I asked.

"Not exactly. When we woke up we noticed that you weren't up early as usual. Spitfire told us that you went out in a hurry, but we shouldn't let it bother us too much. Sora came up and assured us that it wasn't anything serious, just that you were PMSing again…" he explained. My eyebrows furrowed.

"-25 points!" I yelled through clenched teeth. I felt a powerful urge to slip into my ATs and go on a rampage. Unknowingly, my fists began to ball up.

Just then the sound of the main entrance echoed. Footsteps were approaching, but I couldn't tell who they belonged to. The mysterious person kept heading towards us. Dontores and I were anxious to know who it was. A moment later, a mess of short, fiery-orange hair popped out from the corner.

"It's Spitfire" I mumbled as he rounded the corner.

"Dontores are you there?" he asked.

"Yea I'm right here. Wait up I'll come out." He responded. Dontores squeezed himself through the door and brushed passed me. His thunderous footsteps slightly shook the floor as he took a step. I followed closely behind him, revealing myself.

"Kilik! You're back!"

"You sound surprised Spitfire. Was my appearance that uncharacteristic?" I replied half-jokingly.

Spitfire smirked. "No, not at all, but because you stormed out this morning I thought we weren't going to see you again for a couple days.." That's right… I did that once… not a good memory… I grimaced.

"That's definitely not gonna happen again Spitfire." I continued. "Where's Rika-san and that bastard?" I looked left and right, with no sign of the woman who was always close by.

"Ine left too?" I added. I might as well add her in. I don't want to sound like I'm obsessed with those two's activities and whereabouts.

"Oh Ine had to go back to the hospital to take care of some paperwork. She said she wouldn't be back until next week. As for those two, Miss Noyamano said she had to care for the kids so Sora went to see her off. Don't worry though he's gonna be back soon."

"I see. How long ago since you three split up?"

"Hmm it's probably about.. half an hour ago, why?" He sounded a bit suspicious that I was asking these sorts of questions.

I shook my head. "It's nothing. I just wanted to go keep my promise to someone" Spitfire raised an eyebrow, silently questioning me. I felt Dontores' stare pierce into me as well.

"Alright, well if you're still looking to keep that promise you should get going." Spitfire added. He turned his head, looking at the clock perched right by the corridor.

"It's almost 6:30. It's going to become pretty dark soon. We were planning on going out at around 11 or so."

I nodded and said goodbye to the two. I began walking back towards the main entrance, passing by a still-sleeping Black Burn. I grabbed a pair of shoes and hurriedly put on a jacket as I waited for the huge door to open, revealing a dusk that began to disappear and transform into the night. I looked up, observing the colors in the vast sky.

"I should hurry. There's not much time in the day left."

I headed for the perched motorcycle and quickly grabbed the helmet, shoved it on my head, and swung a leg over the other side of the bike.

I grunted and steered the motorcycle around, facing the opposite direction. I wasn't ready to go back to the AT world just yet. I had to do go complete something first. Stepping on the gas, I drove off into the streets again. I saw dozens of cars cruising by and getting stuck in the tight traffic, so I took a road that led to the suburbs. Not many people were present as I passed by and many houses were dark; it made it look like the entire neighborhood was abandoned.

Nearing my destination, I stopped at a house bright with lights. I yanked off the helmet and held it in my hand as I got up. I slowly walked up the steps to the house, planning on what I was going to say in my head. One by one, I was approaching the front door. I heard muffled sounds of people talking and various clattering.

I raised my hand and reached out to knock on the old door. The sound of my knuckles rapping against the door rang in my ears. Relaxing my hand, I dropped my arm back down to my side and waited for someone to answer. I quickly held the helmet behind my back. The sound of approaching feet came from behind the door and suddenly ceased. Suddenly, the door was whipped open, revealing a slightly disheveled Rika standing by it. I eyed her for a moment. Her hair trailed down to her back, strands waving and settling onto her shoulders. She wore a loose, comfortable green t-shirt coupled with a pair of white shorts. Covering her feet, she had on a pair of light-blue slippers that looked worn out. Something is different. What is it that's bothering me? Then it hit me. This is the first time since I've seen her wearing something than her battle uniform... even so, she still looks amazing.. Rika's voice pierced through my thoughts.

"Kilik-san, what are you doing here?" I mentally shook my head to focus. When I opened my eyes a half smile curled my lips. She definitely didn't expect me to appear in front of her doorstep.

"I came to keep my promise" I coolly stated as I presented the helmet to her.

"Come with me"

-
I'm pretty happy with the way the story is going right now :)

Yes, there are some things that came out of the manga, but I thought they would go well with the story, so I used it~

Those who were waiting for the newest chapters, sorry! The chapters are getting longer (compared to the early ones) as I keep writing so it's gonna take a while, especially since there is a lot of editing and revising to be done. Urgh…

R&R and happy reading!~